What organs or systems are affected by Parkinson’s disease and how are they affected?


4 Responses to “What organs or systems are affected by Parkinson’s disease and how are they affected?”

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  1. 1
    Mags Says:

    The trick to this question is to make sure that you identify all of the organs in the human body and they take a look at Parkinson’s disease symptoms to see how they correlate.

    If you just google the answer you might have found Wrong Diagnosis near the top and their answer is incomplete as the only organ they identify is the brain.

    So let’s take a quick look at symptoms from the motor to the non-motor and see which organs are affected.

    Although I often go to the Mayo Clinic website or WebMD and suggest you do that at the links below because they have excellent explanations:
    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/parkinsons-disease/DS00295/DSECTION=symptoms
    http://www.webmd.com/parkinsons-disease/guide/parkinsons-disease-symptoms

    I’ll start here at Medline Plus: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000755.htm#Symptoms
    And for a break, lets take the organs here because they have more links at this site
    http://web.jjay.cuny.edu/~acarpi/NSC/14-anatomy.htm

    Organs and Organ Systems:
    Skin
    Skeletal System composed of bones, cartilage, tendons & ligaments
    Muscular system: skeletal and smooth muscles
    Circulatory system: heart, blood vessels and blood
    Nervous System: To relay electrical signals throughout
    brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves
    Respiratory system: nose, trachea, lungs
    Digestive system: Mouth, esophagus, stomach, liver, intestines
    Excretory Syseem: Kidneys, ureters, badder, urethra
    Endocrine System: pancreas, adrenal glands, etc
    Reproductive system: testes, seminal vesicles, penis
    ovaries, oviducts,uterus, vagina, mammary glands
    Lymphatic/Immune System:
    Lymph, nodes & vessels, white blood cells, T- and B- cells

    Symptoms:
    Automatic movements such as blinking, sweating - Brain
    Constipation: Brain (because of muscle rigidity and Digestive organs - same reasons)
    Difficulty starting or continuing movement: Brain but the eyes can also be involved to assist the way out of the freeze.
    Impaired balance of walking: Brain, muscular and skeletal systems
    (see this link to an interesting research abstract: http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/119/4/1115
    Drooling:
    Lack of facial expression:
    Loss of small or fine hand movements:
    Muscle aches (myalgia)
    Problems with movement
    Rigid or stiff muscles
    Shaking, tremors
    Shuffling gait: (part of muscle rigidity, lack of balance)
    Slowed movements:
    Slowed, quiet speech, monotone voice:
    Stooped posture:
    Fainting: (orthostatic hypotension - blood pressure)
    Loss of muscle function or feeling:
    Variations in heart rate:
    Urinary problems
    Sexual Dysfunction

    Non-motor:
    Anxiety, stress, tension
    Dementia
    Depression
    Hallucinations (this is also a side effect of some meds)
    Memory Loss
    Loss of sense of smell/taste
    Vision disorders
    Sleep disorders
    Seborrhea or seborrheic dermatitis:
    Loss of cognitive skills:

    You will notice that as the list of symptoms progressed, I did not include the organ. That you can do.

    If you have questions you may contact me thru Yahoo or at Parkinson’s Focus Today:
    http://parkinsonsfocustoday.blogspot.com/
    there is a Contact Us in the right column - I’m pretty good at getting back a quick answer.

    I think you have the tools you need and the way to continue to research the answers.

    One last thing, don’t underestimate the effect that PD medications have in causing side effects. The liver is very vulnerable.